Revelation 1:9-20- The Transcendent and Imminent
Revelation • Sermon • Submitted
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· 8 viewsJohn gives us a glimpse of the victorious, transcendent, yet imminent Christ.
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Victorious, Transcendent and Imminent
Victorious, Transcendent and Imminent
I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”
Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
John self attests again to the book but he does so in endearing terms
-Brother, partner- He probably knows people in each of these churches we will see
-But above all he is a brother in Christ- connected by the blood of Jesus and a active partner in all they are going through
However me make a specific 3 fold connection
Tribulation, kingdom, and endurance
Tribulation- to be a Christian is to experience tribulation( distress, struggle, persecution)
-Revelation will make a case for a great tribulation- Rev 7:14 but John is speaking to the real everyday struggle they are going through primarily by Rome
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Kingdom- we have been brought into the kingdom of God and made joint heirs with Christ
Vs 6- said last week he has made us a kingdom
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.”
Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?
But in this kingdom we have a champion
His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.
Lastly endurance- every believer is to persevere in Christ
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.
Do your best to come to me soon.
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.
For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
John understands this well- he is exiled on a island where they used prisoners to quarry stones because of the Word of God and testimony if Jesus
John can empathize- in their shoes- this is personal- it means more
I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet
God gave John a vision on the Lords day
-Doesnt mean being slain in the Spirit or such
But it does connect him to the OT Prophets in their visions of God
And as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.
The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the hand of the Lord being strong upon me.
Also connects him with the authority if the OT Prophets as he hear a trumpet blast same as Moses does on the Mt
On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
So we see Johns vision to have the connection and authority to the OT prophets when God spoke through them
Another interesting note abiout the trumpet- it was a call to worship and the call to battle
“You shall count seven weeks of years, seven times seven years, so that the time of the seven weeks of years shall give you forty-nine years. Then you shall sound the loud trumpet on the tenth day of the seventh month. On the Day of Atonement you shall sound the trumpet throughout all your land. And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his clan.
“Jesus is our jubilee-In his voice we hear the trumpet sound that tell us we are free- He is the incarnation of the year of Jubilee”- Micheal Card
saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”
Here is our first glimpse at the 7 churches
I dont think they are mentioned in a specific order just listed
Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest.
the Lamp represented God presence amongst his people in Ex 25:36-40
In Zechariah 4:2- the lamp in his vision meant Israel and what we see here is that the 7 lamps represent the churches
But most importantly in the one in midst of the lampstands
The son of man- Dan 7 and Dan 10:5-6- gives us a similiar description of the Ancient of Days
In the midst of the tribulation and trouble Jesus isnt seperated from his people but in their midst
He may rule in Heaven on the throne but yet he is in our midst
Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”
Or Stephen before the executioners or even JTB before the sword- God was with his people
Long Robe- worn by the HP Ex 39:2-4- Jesus continously represent them before the Father
The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire,
White hair- Symbolic of age and wisdom- Prov 16:31- speaks of respect the grey heads for their wisdom- Jesus is seen as the omniscient one- knows all
Eyes- symbolize he sees all- Psalms 139 says where can I go that you cant see me- Omnipresent- his eye not fooled but pierce through the mess of man
his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters.
Feet- symbolizes power and moral purity- Kings would put their foot on the neck of their enemies to show their defeat- Omnipotent- he is all powerful- he triumphs over all forces of evil
Voice- John lived on Patmos, so the sound of continual waves was certain- Jesus words are continually true and powerful- Waterfall
In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.
Hands- in his hands he keeps the churches and theirs leaders as Christ is the ultimate head of the church
He protects the church with his Word and judges the nations by his Word
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.
Face- Shining like the sun in full strenght - symbolic of his glory and holiness-
Moses would cover his face after being in the presence of God- Angels glow from being in the presence of God- Seraphim- means fiery ones
And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last,
Proper response- that all prophets did when they encountered Jesus
Is 6- Isaiah falls in fear, Dan 10:8-10- fall with no strenght
But Isaiah, Daniel, and John are all met by the grace of God
Isaiah-gets the angel with the coal, Dan gets “oh Daniel greatly loved, John- gets a familiar touch- “I am the first and last
and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.
He has power over life- Creator and Sustainer of all- living water
He is the one who died- and rose to life again
He has power over death and hell- there is no power left in them 1 Cor 15
Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
john is to record what he sees, what is happening now and what is to come
then he explains the mystery of the lampstand and stars
God in their midst
Victorious, Transcendent, Imminent